This invention relates to a system for constructing integrated circuits on a plurality of three-dimensional objects and for arranging the objects so that the circuits may be selectively intercoupled, all in a high density configuration.
High density packing of circuit components on a planar circuit board or chip is commonplace today. Such circuit boards or chips may be formed in various ways including the use of lithographic techniques which allows for the precise manufacturing and formation of very small details on the circuit board or chip. However, such lithographic techniques have in the past generally been limited to the formation of the circuit structures on planar surfaces such as found on boards and chips.
With the above conventional approach to constructing circuits, in order to increase the circuit capacity in terms of quantity of components, it has been the typical practice to arrange circuit boards or chips in stacks, one above another, and then interconnect the circuits on different boards as well as circuits on the same board. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,771,366, 5,016,138, 5,006,925, and 4,884,167. As noted in at least some of these cited patents, as the number and density of components on a circuit board has increased and as the number of boards increases, it has become more difficult to make effective connections especially between the boards. Also, with the increased density, heating becomes more of a problem and ways of cooling the circuits must be found to ensure accurate and reliable operation. As indicated in a number of the above-cited patents, there are various approaches to providing the required cooling of stacks of circuit boards but such approaches typically are cumbersome, require complicated structure, and have limited effectiveness.
A recent development in circuit construction allows for the fabrication of circuits on three-dimensional objects such as cylinders. See co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 816,628, filed Dec. 12, 1991. Now, instead of just the provision of circuits on generally flat circuit boards and chips which limits the density of electrical components which can be provided in a certain volume, as well as the interconnectability of components located on different boards or chips, circuit structures can be provided in which electrical components may be positioned about an entire three-dimensional substrate to both allow for increased density of components for a certain volume and allow for greater exposure of the components for purposes of connecting those components with components on other substrates.